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DIY: Do It Yourself Post here to share or improve your wrench turning skills! All BMW E46 DIY tips, tales, and projects discussed inside. Learn to work on your car and know the right BMW parts you will need!

I haven't done BMW control arms (yet) but last time I did a ball joint replacement on my old Saab 9000 I found the easiest thing to do to get them to pop was to hit the steering knuckle where it surrounds the ball joint shaft with a short 5lb sledge. A couple good, hard clean whacks and they popped free without having to deal with pickle forks and ball joint tools. This is also a useful technique when you've hammered the heck out of the pickle fork and the ball joint still won't come free.

Guys, we're really close to having a full DIY writeup on the CA replacement, with the pictures that were posted. Tim, I know you said one was coming. Any chance someone that has done it will go ahead and turn it into a formal writeup, with the tools, tips, steps, and photos? I'm getting ready to do this, and the project is difficult enough as it is, but having all of the stuff written in one place would make it so much easier for people like me that have done brakes and stuff, but never suspension work.

Guys, we're really close to having a full DIY writeup on the CA replacement, with the pictures that were posted... I'm getting ready to do this, and the project is difficult enough as it is, but having all of the stuff written in one place would make it so much easier for people like me that have done brakes and stuff, but never suspension work.

Yes please, I am currently using many differnt threads to create my own documentation. Those most recent photos in this post with the CA removal and install are a great help. Thanks guys!

Don't get too wrapped-around-the-axle looking for specific "DIY" instructions. This job, essentially, is removing and replacing four nuts and four bolts. I'd say having the proper tools is much more important than having instructions from some slob like me. Staszek and I could have had this done in two hours total if we had actually had the right size wrenches. Anyway, that being said, here's my list of tools one might need:

-torque wrench, good for up to about 100 ft-lbs
-1/2"-drive ratchet wrench.
-17mm "long" socket - for taking off lug nuts
-16mm socket for removing bushing carrier bolts
-18 and 21mm flat/open wrenches, for removing nuts from ball joints.
-possible 19 and 22mm flat/open wrenches for re-installing control arms with new ball joints/nuts. when you do receive your new control arms, it's very worthwhile checking the size of the nuts on top. make sure you have good flat wrenches in those sizes.
-a pickle fork. small/medium ones are fine, say 10-15 inches long.
-a big darn hammer. think 5 to 10 pound sledge. we used a 10-pounder, hammering slowly and accurately. no problem at all.
-allen keys, 5mm and 6mm. again, double-check that your new ball joints have sockets in sizes that you have keys for.

Staszek/Tim/anyone, wanna add whatever I've forgotten?

When I do this job again, I will also make sure I have:
-knee pads. seriously.
-ratcheting flat wrenches, like these "Gear Wrenches."

Anyway, if somebody really wants to write up a DIY and lives in NY/NJ/PA (or wants to fly me to Cali ) then PM me. I'd be happy to help.

Don't get too wrapped-around-the-axle looking for specific "DIY" instructions. This job, essentially, is removing and replacing four nuts and four bolts. I'd say having the proper tools is much more important than having instructions from some slob like me. Staszek and I could have had this done in two hours total if we had actually had the right size wrenches. Anyway, that being said, here's my list of tools one might need:

-torque wrench, good for up to about 100 ft-lbs
-1/2"-drive ratchet wrench.
-17mm "long" socket - for taking off lug nuts
-16mm socket for removing bushing carrier bolts
-18 and 21mm flat/open wrenches, for removing nuts from ball joints.
-possible 19 and 22mm flat/open wrenches for re-installing control arms with new ball joints/nuts. when you do receive your new control arms, it's very worthwhile checking the size of the nuts on top. make sure you have good flat wrenches in those sizes.
-a pickle fork. small/medium ones are fine, say 10-15 inches long.
-a big darn hammer. think 5 to 10 pound sledge. we used a 10-pounder, hammering slowly and accurately. no problem at all.
-allen keys, 5mm and 6mm. again, double-check that your new ball joints have sockets in sizes that you have keys for.

Staszek/Tim/anyone, wanna add whatever I've forgotten?

When I do this job again, I will also make sure I have:
-knee pads. seriously.
-ratcheting flat wrenches, like these "Gear Wrenches."

Anyway, if somebody really wants to write up a DIY and lives in NY/NJ/PA (or wants to fly me to Cali ) then PM me. I'd be happy to help.

Hmmm those ratcheting flat wrenches would have been SOOO damm sweet doing this.

Just took my car into an indy tech (RennWerks) to have new tires mounted and paid him an hours' worth of labor to look all around, drive and otherwise inspect everything on the car as my OEM warranty goes away in 6k miles and after that I'll have a $50 deductible to pay for warranty stuff (and some limitations to the warranty itself). He noticed a very slight vibration in the front end at 60 - 65mph, some slight feathering of the tire edges and a little play in the steering. Alignment OK, but he noticed it was the control arm bushings (the lower ones). So he wrote it up as "Lower control arm bushings are soft, causing uneven tire wear / feathering. Recommend replacement". I took that to my tech a couple of weeks later when I went in for an oil service and they pressed new bushings in under warranty, even though the bushings weren't cracked or broken, just "soft".

Nice. It's hard to feel a difference as I thought the car felt tight and precise to begin with, but I have noticed it sets into and holds a line better in long, fast sweeping turns and that slight vibration b/t 60 - 65mph is gone.

Just did LCA swap this weekend with a friend of mine. Was surprisingly very easy install, especially after reading about other people's experiences on the board. The comment by rOx is spot on, no DIY is needed...just the right tools...and his list is perfect. Bought new CA and Powerflex bushings from Bimmerworld during their sale. Cars drives over expansion joints in the road like never before...no more darting.

Some other points:

-I just reused the old carrier (lollypop) bolts and used some loctite
-Had to go out and by new wrenches due to the 21 and 22 mm wrenches needed
-Was able to snake a socket (using several extenders and a u-joint) from the opening near the oil dip stick handle down to the nut on the drivers side balljoint and take it off with an air gun.
-Pickle fork (plus a few had wacks from a mallet) popped the ball joints out easily

Would highly recommend getting the bushings prepressed into the lollypop. Also highly recommend the Powerflex bushings.

I ordered a set of hamburg-technic control arms as well as new tie rods and will be installing it this weekend. So yesterday i took one wheel off to see what i will have to do this weekend, compare it to pictures on this site etc. I tried to take the outer nut off on the control arm and it came off without the need to use an allen key. The middle part was not spinning as mentioned here and i was able to use a regular socket I was able to tighten it with a socket wrench as well. This of course means that i should be able to use a torque wrench too. I did not try the inner nut but hopefully i will be able to use a socket there too, especially because i will be taking off the tierod, so there will be a lot more room up there.

Vert, where do you live in VA? I'm in Vienna, just south of Tyson's. I have my CA's and bushings already, just haven't had time to install them. Thinking about doing it Sunday, maybe we should have an install meet?

Vert, where do you live in VA? I'm in Vienna, just south of Tyson's. I have my CA's and bushings already, just haven't had time to install them. Thinking about doing it Sunday, maybe we should have an install meet?

I am in Richmond so a little far from where you are - i'll be installing this Saturday morning.

Well - i installed new control arms with powerflex bushings as well as new tie rods this weekend using pictures/instructions on page 2 of this thread as a reference. Took me about 4 hours by myself. I would have been done in 2 hours without the tie rods. Some observations:

- Instead of using the allen key on the control arm bolts, i just used a jack to press on the balljoint from below like someone suggested. It's easier than the allen key i think.

- Gear wrenches mentioned in the diy did not work for me - not enough clearance. I ended up using regular wrenches and sockets. Yes, sockets worked on some bolts using the jack trick.

- Make sure to get the bushings as far as they can go on the arms - i used a mallet to hammer them on. If you look the instructions for bushing install on TIS, they actually tell you the distance in millimeters. I drew a line on the control arm as a guide and it so happened that i was not able to get the bushing past that line anyway. So just hammer it on with a mallet as far as it will go.

- I rented a tie rod separator and ball joint separator from Autozone. Balljoint separator is the only one that worked - it's the longer one out of the two. But in any case - get a couple of pickle forks and one of them will work.

- When using the pickle fork, just hammer it on first using a mallet then use the big sledge but make sure to hit it in a very controlled manner. Use two hands to hold the sledge - you do not have to hold the fork. Make sure that the sledge does not slip and run away!

- I separated the outer joint first, then the inner, then took off the two bolts that hold the bushing at which point the whole control arm can be removed. Using this method, inner balljoint might separate but not come out until you remove the bushing bolts, so don't continue hammering once you see that the balljoint is lose. Just remove the bushing bolts and take the control arm down with your hands.

Well, tomorrow is the big day! I've never done a control arm install....but I'm confident having picked up all the tools and reading all the DIY posts on the topic. I'll post my results (not process, as we already have enough good ones!) when I'm done tomorrow! Plus, I'll be adding some other goodies.

Guys, we're really close to having a full DIY writeup on the CA replacement, with the pictures that were posted. Tim, I know you said one was coming. Any chance someone that has done it will go ahead and turn it into a formal writeup, with the tools, tips, steps, and photos? I'm getting ready to do this, and the project is difficult enough as it is, but having all of the stuff written in one place would make it so much easier for people like me that have done brakes and stuff, but never suspension work.

Also, I'll be doing tie rods as well. Anyone have a DIY for that?

Ok, I did it. Not too bad, but it was tiring pounding away at the pickle fork, and I had two major problems (bent threads in the hole where the bushing carrier attaches, and an improperly drilled hole in the control arm where the xenon auto-leveler attaches).

I did a write up, E46Fanatic style, but did not take pictures. I'd like to get this posted: Anyone who wants to make edits, feel free to do so. Maybe we can add the pictures that were already posted, then get Tim to put it in the tech section?

Tools Needed:
Floor Jack
Jack Stands
Torque Wrench (up to 100 ft/lbs)
Tools included in your trunk
16mm socket
16mm long socket (optional)
18, 21, and 22mm open wrenches, as short as possible (you'll be working in confined spaces)
A pickle fork (rent this from Autozone as a universal ball joint separator)
A large hammer, I used both a 3.5 lb deadblow hammer, and a 10 lb sledge
5mm allen key socket
Two 18mm nuts and two 21mm nuts (one each per side) from your dealer to secure the control arm bolts (Mine did not come with the nuts, yours may. This is not optional, as the nuts have nylon inserts and are one-time use only.)
Twelve 16mm bolts (Part # 31-10-1-095-140) to reattach the frame support brace and bushing carriers. (Optional, up to you whether or not you want to reuse the old bolts.)
Philips head screwdriver
Flat head screwdriver (to pry out ABS sensor)
Gloves (optional)
Estimated time: 4 hours

1. The first thing you need to do is get your car up on jack stands. I'm absolutely appalled at how hard this is to do, and how vague the information is out there. As far as I can tell, on my car, a 2002 325CI, there is only one place to do this in the front. That place, the frame rails, is the only place I recommend jacking up the car in the front besides the stock jack pads (which is where the jack stand will go). I tried all sorts of other places from forum posts, and each was not meant to support the weight of the car (all crushed!). In order to get a floor jack under the car, you'll either need to drive up on 2X4s/ramps, or jack the car up first with the stock jack using the jack points.

2. I only jacked up one side at a time, some have warned about the car falling off the jack stands if you try to jack up the front right side while the front left is already on jack stands. There's no need to have both wheels off the ground at once. We'll assume you're starting with the driver's side control arm. The passenger side arm presents an added challenge in that the xenon auto-leveler is attached to it for cars with xenons. This is not the case on the driver's side.

3. Remove the wheel.

4. Get under the car and remove the black plastic shield under the engine bay. It is held on by Philips head screws that are designed to be loosened but still stay in the shield.

5. Continue on to the aluminum frame support brace. This is held on by 16mm bolts in recessed holes in the brace. I recommend a long 16mm socket here, although a regular 16mm socket will reach. Be careful not to drop the socket into the hole in the brace if using a regular sized one. Remove all eight bolts and lower the brace (it's very light).

6. You are now ready to begin removing the control arms. Starting on the driver's side, first remove the ABS sensor adjacent to the outer ball joint, using the 5mm allen socket. After you remove the bolt, use a flat head screwdriver to carefully pry the sensor out of the brake assembly. This is necessary to allow enough room for a socket to fit over the ball-joint nut. You'll need to use a socket in order to properly re-torque the bolt to spec.

7. Get back underneath the car and remove the two 16mm bolts securing the lollypop (bushing) carrier to the frame.

8. Remove the outer ball joint (the one closest to the wheel) nut using an 18mm socket or wrench.

9. Remove the inner ball joint nut using a 22mm wrench (you probably won't be able to get a socket on it). It is tough to find space for the wrench, and this can be painstakingly slow.

10. You are now ready to fry (separate) the ball joints from the car. Turn the steering wheel in order to rotate the brake discs out of your way to give the best access to the joints. Take your pickle fork and insert it between the ball joint and the car (front subframe for the inner ball joint, and the wheel hub assembly for the outer joint). Give it a few whacks with a normal or dead blow hammer to get started, then move on to the sledge. Let the weight do the work, and swing controlled and carefully. It is going to take lots and lots of swings, no matter what. This is not a matter of brute force, but giving the tool time to do its job. Start with the inner ball joint (harder to reach, but comes apart easier) and finish with the outer ball joint. You can use a deadblow hammer in place of the sledge, but it will take longer. It took me between 10 and 20 minutes of hammering for each outer ball joint (inner ones took maybe 10 swings).

11. After frying the joints, the control arm and carrier will drop down. You are now ready to install the new arms and carriers. I'm assuming you have new bushings already in new carriers. If not, you'll have to figure out how to get to that point.

12. Look at the old control arm, and take note of the orientation of the carrier on the arm. Copy that by sliding the new bushing and carrier onto the new arm. Pay special attention to the size of the two bolt holes in the carrier (not the same) and the fact that one side is counter-sunk (the side that attaches to the car's frame). Use a mallet or deadblow hammer to hammer the bushing on to the control arm. If using powerflex bushings, you shouldn't need any lubricant. Ideally, the end of the control arm will be flush with the bushing.

13. Insert the inner ball joint's bolt into the subframe, followed by the outer ball joint. Last, carefully line up the bushing carrier. You can move the strut around a little to get it to line up correctly. The bushing will need to be on the control arm pretty firmly in order to properly line up. When the parts are properly lined up, you should be able to smoothly push the carrier onto the frame, and the bolts should go in easily. Be very careful to install the bolts properly, as if things aren't lined up properly, they may go in crooked and bend the threads in the hole (ask me how I know). Use a floor jack to support the inner ball joint while you line things up. Torque the carrier bolts to 43 ft/lbs.

14. Thread the new ball-joint nuts onto the bolts. The new inner ball joint nut will be 21, not 22mm. The outer ball joint will remain 18mm. Some have reported the need to use a hex key in the bolt, or a floor jack, to stop the ball joint from spinning. Mine never spun, so this was not an issue. Torque the outer ball joint to 44 ft/lbs. I don't see any way of getting a torque wrench on the inner ball joint, so I did it by hand.

15. Reinstall the ABS sensor, then the wheel. Jack the car up again, remove the jack stands, and lower the car to the ground (either back onto a 2X4, or use the stock jack again to get the floor jack out from under the car.)

16. Repeat the process on the passenger's side. The only difference is that before you remove the control arm, you will need to unbolt the xenon auto-leveling sensor from the arm. This is easy to find, as it's the only other lever attached to the arm through a small hole. After installing the new arm, you'll need to reconnect this. The hole drilled in my new control arm was drilled crooked, and the bolt would not fit through. I wound up having to use a dremel with a diamond/carbide tip to straighten the hole and properly reattach the sensor.

17. Reinstall the frame brace, followed by the plastic shield, and you're finished. Take your car to a shop to have an alignment done within a few hundred miles, although the car should still track straight.

I just bought an 03' 330i about 4 months ago and its been making funny noises for the last 2 months. Major brake metal-on-metal rubbing. Basically it turns out the Front Brakes and Rotors need replacing, Front Lower Control Arm Bushings, and the rear Main Seal Transmission Leak all needs repairing. I'm crossing my fingers some of this crap will be covered under the "MPP Used Gold Warrranty" I bought when I bought the car..... If not, are these things a non-mechanic should attempt? I have worked on dirt bikes and minor things on my own vehicles (brake pads, alternator, fuel filters,... little stuff like that) Thanks for any info. you might have (1st post ever....)

Everything you mentioned can be done yourselves rather easily doing diy's on this site. I actually just finished everything. How many miles on your car? If you are replacing control arms bushings, you might want to check your control arms as well because it would be easier to just do both at once. And if you put stock bushings on and then find out that you need control arms as well, you will need to buy bushings all other again as you can't reuse them. But definitely check if your warranty covers it although everything you mentioned is a wear and tear item.

Just an FYI, I went ahead and ordered these^^^ without thinking about it. I thought I was buyiing 4 bolts for the bushings, and an additional 4 bolts for the triangular brace that needs to be removed in the QAB install. When I picked up the bolts the 2nd ones (31-10-6-766-218 sub frame bolts $8 x4) obviously would not fit in the reinforcement bar. These bolts are actually for a front axle support, which I didnt remove in the first place. So for future reference the p/n is the same for the bushing bolts and the triangular reinforcement bolts.